Deuteronomy 19
New American Standard Bible
Cities of Refuge
19 “(A)When the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God is giving you, and you dispossess them and settle in their cities and in their houses, 2 (B)you shall set aside for yourself three cities in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you to [a]possess. 3 You shall prepare the [b]roads for yourself, and divide into three regions the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as an inheritance, [c]so that anyone who commits manslaughter may flee there.
4 “(C)Now this is the case of the one who commits manslaughter, who may flee there and live: when he [d]kills his friend [e]unintentionally, [f]not hating him previously— 5 as when a person goes into the forest with his friend to cut wood, and his hand [g]swings the axe to cut down the tree, and the iron head slips off the [h]handle and [i]strikes his friend so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and live. 6 Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue [j]him [k]in the heat of his anger, and overtake him because the way is long, and [l]take his life, though he was not sentenced to death since he had not hated him previously. 7 Therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside for yourself three cities.’
8 “And if the Lord your God (D)enlarges your territory, just as He has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land that He [m]promised to give your fathers— 9 if you [n]carefully follow all of this commandment which I am commanding you today, (E)to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—(F)then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three. 10 So innocent blood will not be shed in the midst of your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and (G)guilt for bloodshed will not be on you.
11 “But (H)if there is a person who hates his neighbor, and waits in ambush for him and rises up against him and strikes [o]him so that he dies, and he flees to one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send men and take him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 [p](I)You shall not pity him, but (J)you shall eliminate the guilt for the bloodshed of the innocent from Israel, so that it may go well for you.
Laws of Landmark and Testimony
14 “(K)You shall not displace your neighbor’s boundary marker, which the ancestors have set, in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to [q]possess.
15 “(L)A single witness shall not rise up against a person regarding any wrongdoing or any sin [r]that he commits; on the [s]testimony of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed. 16 (M)If a malicious witness rises up against a person to testify against him of wrongdoing, 17 then both people who have the dispute shall stand (N)before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who will be in office in those days. 18 And the judges (O)shall investigate thoroughly, and if the witness is a false witness and he has testified against his brother falsely, 19 then (P)you shall do to him just as he had planned to do to his brother. So you shall eliminate the evil from among you. 20 And (Q)the rest of the people will hear and be afraid, and will never again do such an evil thing among you. 21 So [t](R)you shall not show pity: (S)life for life, (T)eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, and foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:2 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit road
- Deuteronomy 19:3 Lit and it shall be for everyone who committed manslaughter to flee there
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit strikes
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit without knowledge
- Deuteronomy 19:4 Lit and he was not hating him previously
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit is put to the
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit wood
- Deuteronomy 19:5 Lit finds
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit the one who committed manslaughter
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit while his heart is hot
- Deuteronomy 19:6 Lit strike him in the soul
- Deuteronomy 19:8 Lit spoke
- Deuteronomy 19:9 Lit keep all...to do it
- Deuteronomy 19:11 Lit him in the soul
- Deuteronomy 19:13 Lit Your eye
- Deuteronomy 19:14 Lit possess it
- Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit in any sin, that he sins
- Deuteronomy 19:15 Lit mouth of two witnesses, or by the mouth of three
- Deuteronomy 19:21 Lit your eye
Deuteronomy 19
Revised Standard Version
Laws concerning the Cities of Refuge
19 “When the Lord your God cuts off the nations whose land the Lord your God gives you, and you dispossess them and dwell in their cities and in their houses, 2 you shall set apart three cities for you in the land which the Lord your God gives you to possess. 3 You shall prepare the roads, and divide into three parts the area of the land which the Lord your God gives you as a possession, so that any manslayer can flee to them.
4 “This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If any one kills his neighbor unintentionally without having been at enmity with him in time past— 5 as when a man goes into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and his hand swings the axe to cut down a tree, and the head slips from the handle and strikes his neighbor so that he dies—he may flee to one of these cities and save his life; 6 lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him, because the way is long, and wound him mortally, though the man did not deserve to die, since he was not at enmity with his neighbor in time past. 7 Therefore I command you, You shall set apart three cities. 8 And if the Lord your God enlarges your border, as he has sworn to your fathers, and gives you all the land which he promised to give to your fathers— 9 provided you are careful to keep all this commandment, which I command you this day, by loving the Lord your God and by walking ever in his ways—then you shall add three other cities to these three, 10 lest innocent blood be shed in your land which the Lord your God gives you for an inheritance, and so the guilt of bloodshed be upon you.
11 “But if any man hates his neighbor, and lies in wait for him, and attacks him, and wounds him mortally so that he dies, and the man flees into one of these cities, 12 then the elders of his city shall send and fetch him from there, and hand him over to the avenger of blood, so that he may die. 13 Your eye shall not pity him, but you shall purge the guilt of innocent blood[a] from Israel, so that it may be well with you.
Property Boundaries
14 “In the inheritance which you will hold in the land that the Lord your God gives you to possess, you shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark, which the men of old have set.
Law concerning Witnesses
15 “A single witness shall not prevail against a man for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed; only on the evidence of two witnesses, or of three witnesses, shall a charge be sustained. 16 If a malicious witness rises against any man to accuse him of wrongdoing, 17 then both parties to the dispute shall appear before the Lord, before the priests and the judges who are in office in those days; 18 the judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, 19 then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother; so you shall purge the evil from the midst of you. 20 And the rest shall hear, and fear, and shall never again commit any such evil among you. 21 Your eye shall not pity; it shall be life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
Footnotes
- Deuteronomy 19:13 Or the blood of the innocent
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.